Sunday, January 31, 2010

O Muslims! Allah (swt) honored us to be Muslim. When someone says he is Muslim, it means he is under the manifestation of this mercy Allah (swt) gave to no other person. How much happiness there is in the heart for one who says, “I am Muslim!” We are saying, “Yaa Rabbee, as you made us Muslim, make us mukmin (believer).”

Allah said in the Holy Qur’an, “Don’t say, ‘We are mukmin’, say, ‘We are Muslim’", because iman (faith) didn’t yet enter the heart. When iman enters the heart there are some simple signs. If you see these signs, it shows you have iman in your heart; might be little bit, might be so much.

One time a believer came to Sayyidina Musa (a) and asked, “Yaa Musa, Yaa Nabiyullah, when you go to Tur Sinai to speak with your Lord because you are Kaleemullah, I am asking you to request Him to send me iman in my heart as I feel I have no iman.”

When Sayyidina Musa (a) finished with the message that Allah wants him to deliver, he said, “Yaa Rabbee, one of those who believes in me, one of Your servants is asking to have some iman. He doesn’t have iman, he feels empty. Yaa Rabbee, You Are the Absolute Generous One! No one can be more generous than You! You created generosity! Give him iman.”

Allah (swt) replied, “Yaa Musa! Tell him that I gave him iman.”

Sayyidina Musa (a) went back and knocked on the door of that believer and no one answered. He knocked again, no answer. Then he pushed the door open and found that man in complete submission; he was not even feeling Sayyidina Musa (a) around him! He was like someone whose mind stopped completely, like he is in a coma. Sayyidina Musa (a) asked, “Yaa Rabbee, what happened?”

Allah (swt) answered, “Yaa Musa, you asked for iman and I sent iman! And I sent only one small particle of iman, smaller than any particle in dunya I sent to his heart. Yaa Musa, even if you grind him he will not wake up as he is completely in love with me.”

O Muslims! One atom is able to make you drown in that Love (`ishq)! So mercy to each other is important. There are signs when you show mercy to each other. Allah (swt) said:

وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

wa rahmatee wasi`at kulla shay

"My Mercy has encompassed everything." (Qur'an Al-A`raaf, 7:156)

Prophet (s) said you can detect the signs of mercy. This hadith will tell you if you have iman or not:

`an jareer ibn abdillah `anni 'n-nabi qaala

man laa yarhama 'n-naas,

laa yarhamahullah.

Jareer said:

“Whoever doesn’t show mercy to people,

Allah will never show him mercy.”

Mercy is important to take you to Paradise. Allah (swt) said according to the Holy Hadith of Prophet (s):

sabaqat rahmatee `ala ghadabee

"(Allah said:) 'My mercy has overcome My wrath."

That means when in state of tranquility, peace and happiness, and you are not sick, Allah gave you everything and you are feeling that mercy on you, and you want to share it with people, and Allah likes that. Someone who has mercy, his anger will go down. If you want to know that you are not an angry man, you will look not to hurt anyone, but you will look to help others. The one who takes care of others is from that Ocean of Allah’s Mercy in your heart, (otherwise) Allah (swt) will not give you when you need it. Why Allah gave shafa’a to Prophet, to intercede for people on Day of Judgment? That is for the mercy, to enter Paradise, man qaala laa ilaaha illa-Llah dakhal al-Jannah.

Look, even this shows if you have mercy in your heart. Abi Hurayrah (r) said, and these are all authentic ahadith:

qabal an-nabi al-hasan

wa ali, aqra` ibn al-haabis

“He (Prophet) was sitting and he kissed (his grandson) al-Hassan,

and one leader of the people was present and he said,

`indee `asharan min al-walad lam aqbal minhum ahad

“I have ten children, Yaa Rasulullah, and I never kissed one of them in my life.”

(And Prophet [s] replied)

man laa yarham laa yurham

“Who doesn’t have mercy for people, Allah will not have mercy for him.”

And so a very simple sign of mercy that Allah is showing us is to keep your family happy, to show love and mercy to your wife, to keep those around you feeling okay. Don’t be only looking what is good for yourself! There are those living around you in a small community and if you don’t show them that same mercy,

man laa yarham laa yurham

"who doesn’t give mercy, will not get it on the Day of Judgment."

And Sayyida Ayesha (r) said:

qadim naasun min al`aarabi ala rasulillah

“A group of Arabs came to visit the Prophet and they asked,

atuqabiloon subyanakum

‘Do you kiss your boys?’

laakin wallahi maa nuqabilloo

and the Prophet said,

awa amliku in kaana ar-rahma

‘It is not in my hand if Allah took from your hearts mercy (show them love and respect).’

And what Prophet said here? Atooqabiloona subyaanikum? He didn’t say, “Do you kiss your daughters?” because there was a risk there. At that time (the societal norm was) the father married the daughter, the son married the sister and the second sister!

Today, if you are man, kiss a man, not a girl! (i.e it is better to show friendship to a man than to an unrelated woman). Today if you kiss a man, they say you are gay, (laughter) but if a woman (who) is a stranger, (and) you kiss her it is no problem in these kind of communities!

They didn’t ask Prophet (s), “Do you kiss your girls?” But how many times today are we hearing the prediction of Prophet (s)? How many have issues that the father is abusing the daughter or the brother is assaulting the sister? Fourteen-hundred years ago the Prophet (s) predicted that. Islam’s greatness includes everything, and that is why Allah (swt) said:

Saturday, January 30, 2010

O son, for our journey within, let us heed this message from a man of Allah, Harith bin Asad al-Muhasibi:"God should be approachedin a spirit of shame for the lack of gratitude,of concern for shortcomings,of real hope in His mercy andof joy at the thought of Him."

Today, I shall make a journey to east coast of Malaysia - a journey without. Please make du'a for my safety, me and my entourage. I will remember you visitors of Lisan al-Din in my prayers, InshaAllah, especially Sister Nafisah who had recently travelled and made du'a for me when she visited Maqam Habib Mohsen. For the sake of Sister Nafisah's thoughtful and beautiful heart, I share with her and all of you here a talqinzikir of Idrisiah/Ahmadiah Tariqat which I got an ijazah for, from Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam al-Maliki who got it from his renowned guru Abuya al-Sayyid al-Habib Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki al-Hassani; who received it from his father Al-Sayyid al-Habib Alawi bin Abbas al-Maliki al-Hassani; who received it from Al-Imam Sayyid Ahmad al-Sharif al-Mujahid who received it from his father Al-Imam Muhammad al-Sharif al-Mahdi al-Sanusi; who received it from his father Al-Imam al-Sayyid Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanusi; who received it from Al-Imam Sayyid Ahmad bin Idris (Sohib al-Tariqah al-Idrisiah); who received it from Sayyidina Rasulullah s.a.w (in person/yaqazah).

You may notice that there were 6 people between Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam al-Maliki and the Prophet s.a.w. Therefore, technically speaking there are 8 people between you and the Prophet s.a.w. bi-iznillah although it may not be a proper ijazah. May Allah accept my intention to share whatever little knowledge I have, with the intention to remind myself and people to remember Allah and His messenger Muhammad s.a.w.

May we approach our God with this zikir, with joy at the thought of Him.

Friday, January 29, 2010

There exists outside of what we are saying a world for you to seek. This world and its pleasure are allotted to man's animal nature; they are fodder for his animality. The principal thing in man is in decline. Man is called a rational animal therefore, he is two things.

What feeds his animality in this world is:

- passion and

- desire.

But the food for his essential part is:

- knowledge,
- wisdom and the
- vision of God.

Man's animal nature avoids the Real,
and his human nature flies from this world.
"One of you is an unbeliever,
and another of you is a believer." (Quran 64:2)
There are two personae in conflict in this being.
"With whom shall luck be?
Whom shall fortune favor?"

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Sufis lead their lives outwardly in accordance with the sacred law of the shariat, but inwardly they are entirely independent of everything,except the beholding of God.- Abu Bakar al-KattaniFrom: The Reflections of the Mystics of Islam

O son, listen to me. Never compromise on matters of shariat. Never fall into error of some pseudo-Sufis who are quick to jump into conclusion that "people of haqiqah" who supposedly understand tasawwuf, can be lenient on the duties of shariat. I was once fooled by this, as I had mixed with a wrong group of people. What is the difference between you and the others, if you want to mimmick the Sufis, follow their footsteps? That, outwardly you are just like everybody else, like any other devout Muslims who hold fast to the religion. But inwardly you are free of all limitations because your spirit is free to roam to your Lord and be close with Him always. Bi-iznillah.

But more than that, everytime you look at something, in your heart, inwardly, you witness Him manifesting Himself in a myriad of reflections, all pointing to His Holy Names and Attributes, Asma'ul Husna. Then again His manifestations is vast beyond a limited known Names. This is what one of our gurus, Baba Aziz keeps stressing - to always be in the state of shuhud - witnessing of Allah. I wish to caution you not to make the mistakes I made. This shuhud is not a far-fetched concept or philosophy or whatever idea you may conceive. This is an everyday thing which you should train yourself to do. Look hard. Observe His presence. Feel in your heart. Do all these while you mingle about people, doing your daily activities. I know it is not an easy thing to master, but at least be aware of this need to behold God inwardly, in our hearts. Certainly, it's not something that is only applicable during salat.

This, I remind myself as we plod on this path. The path that would take us to a state which is devoid of shirik khafi so that we live the true meaning of la ilaha illAllah and li wajhillah (Nothing exist save His Face).

We are veiled by 70,000 veils, say our gurus. Therefore, slowly, every day we pray that these veils are removed bit by bit by the grace of Allah. We pray a'uzubillah min shirikil khafi. We seek refuge in Allah from having shirik khafi - the most minute, the finest kind of shirik which most people take for granted. Beware of this. Ask the learned about this.

O son, may Allah grant you and I better understanding. May He improve our understanding each day. May He grant us gnosis for us to have the ability to see Him here and now, so that we are not blind of Him. Because if we are not able to see Him here and now, we are going to be blind in the hereafter. Na'uzubillah.

With the blessings of Rasulullah s.a.w. we pray for success dunya wal akhirah. Ameen Allahumma Ameen.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Al-Junayd said, "Sincerity is a secret between God and the servant. Even the recording angel knows nothing of it to write it (in the register of one's deeds). The devil does not know of it to corrupt it, nor is passion aware of it that it might influence it." Ruwaym explained, "Sincerity in good deeds is that the one performing the deed wants compensation of it neither in the world nor in the hereafter, nor does he seek goodly treatment from the two angels who question the dead."

It was asked of Sahl bin Abdullah, "What is the hardest thing on the self?" He answered, "Sincerity, because it has no share in it." When asked about sincerity, one of the Sufis responded, "It means that you call upon no one other than God to be a witness to your doings."

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Behave, my sons, like the elders in your youth. Let your soul be full of firmness, purity and charity. Train your mind to bravely tackle complex problems of thought and come out with lessons because cowardly minds lead man to ignorance, narrow his horizons and block from him the windows of Truth that let in the rays of happiness and the breeze of life in dead hearts. Do not hesitate to tell the truth balanced by reason. Rather, you have to be in your youth like older men, firm of will, mindful, calm and considerate. A youth will not be blamed for being mindful. So do not belittle yourselves by not seeking knowledge, nor should you tarry, because of it, from taking all chances to know what you are ignorant of because the liar is the one who claims to know everything. You should know that the one who seeks knowledge is never satiated. "Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you." (Qur'an 17:85). So have frequent consultation with people of piety, religion and jurisprudence. Take from people of experience, those who have age, foresight, opinion, minds and wisdom. Take from them what is beneficial to you.

Avoid, my sons, consulting people of little religion, thin belief, dry heart and closed fists. One of little religion and thin belief does not care to commit the forbidden by Allah or desist from bad innovations. As for those of dry heart and closed fists, they are the people of greed and avarice. Do not let them come near you. Know that whenever a man is stingy and of tight fist, he will surely be one who takes more and give less. Whoever is like that becomes shaky and will not be steady except for a little while. So do good to people, and you win their heart.

I have never seen a good thing like doing the good;

its taste is sweet, its face is beautiful.

The good-doer, my sons, is the beloved of the most Gracious. "No ground (of complaint) can there be against such as do right." (Qur'an 9:91). This is on condition that it is for the sake of Allah that they do their good deeds. "For the mercy of Allah is always near to those who do the good." (Qur'an 7:56) "Whatever of wealth you spend that is good is for the parents and the kindred and the orphans and those in want and the wayfarers. And whatever you do that is good, Allah knows well." (Qur'an 2:215)

"If you disclose your acts of charity, even so, it is well. But if you conceal them and make them reach those really in need that is best for you. It will remove from you some of your stains of evil. And Allah is well acquainted with what you do." (Qur'an 2:271)

So be sure to seek good people for your counsel and ask for help from people of generosity, honour and high character whenever there is need for help in what you want to do. Take care, my sons. "Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks; they will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire you to suffer. Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths; what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the signs if you have wisdom." (Qur'an 3:118)

You have to know, my sons, that covetousness is the cause of the first act of disobedience of man to his God Allah. So protect yourselves and your family from a fire the fuel of which is human beings and stones. Protect yourselves from hell by offering even as little a thing as half of date. Do not belittle any charitable act, even f it is only meeting your brother with a welcoming face. Covetousness is shame, stinginess bars one from doing noble acts, and avarice causes failure. "And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, they are the ones who achieve prosperity." (Qur'an 59:9 and 64:16).

Stick to lawful earning, my sons, for that which is lawfully earned one can spend on lawful causes. Avoid the bad, for the bad leads one to its kind even if it is checked for a while. Look for the good in everything you gain, do or say and in every marriage you contract, be it for a son or daughter. This is because the good leads to the good. You have to know that Allah is good and does not accept anything but the good. When a man gets a forbidden thing into his belly, it becomes a barrier against accepting his prayer. So see to it that your food and drink are lawful; your prayer will then be answered. Beware of spending on your desires because that is a barrier against good guidance.

Monday, January 25, 2010

24th January 2010 is a date to remember - a date I will remember because by the grace of Allah, I had on that day received ijazah from Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam al-Maliki(picture right) for all the teachings contained in a Malay booklet called Bekal Akhirat (Provisions for the Hereafter). Alhamdulilah wa shukrulillah. It was an ijazah for the zikr, hizib, salawat, du'a, qasidah, wirid and tariqat which had been specially selected by his renowned guru Almarhum Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki (1944 - 2004). Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam al-Maliki upon directive from his guru compiled and published them for the first time in Malaysia in 2009.

I will post hereby the sanad (lineage) which Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam had obtained for:

1. Al-Tariqat al-Qadiriah as-Shaziliah ad-Darqawiyah

2. Hizb Imam Nawawi

3. Ratib al-Hadad

4. Talqin Zikir at-Tariqah al-Idrisiah as-Shaziliah

5. Salawat Nariah/Kamilah/Taziah and

6. Qasidah Burdah.

I am of the opinion that it is important to publish these sanad electronically so that people may refer to them easily and record such pertinent history on the traditional Islamic teaching and learning method. We belong with the people who believe in the significance of learning from a guru who inherits a body of knowledge from a guru whom he had met and studied from - one who had in turn met his guru and studied in a similar manner until the first guru who is none other than Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. This record of sanad is especially meant as reference for my future descendants.

1. Shaykh Fahmi bin Zamzam al-Maliki (Abu Ali is his father, Al-Banjari is his tribe, An-Nadwi is his qualifications, Al-Maliki is his title as conferred upon him by his guru (picture above), Al-Shafi'e is his mahzab, Al-Shadhili is his tariqat, with the grace of Allah (he) has obtained this talqin zikir and bay'ah from:)
2. Sayyid Shaykh Muhammad Nadim as-Sahabi al-Halibi (Syria)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Some people have regard to beginnings and some to ends. Those who look at the ends are powerful and great because their sights are on finalities and results. Those who look at the beginnings are even more select. They say: "What use is there of looking at the ends? When wheat is is sown in the beginning, barley will not grow in the end. When barley is sown, wheat is not going to grow." Their view is then on the beginning.

There is another group more select still who look neither to the beginnings nor to the end. They do not think of beginnings or ends, they are absorbed in God. Another group is absorbed in the world and look not to beginnings or ends out of extreme heedlessness; they are fodder for hell.

It is obvious that Muhammad was the origin, for God said to him: "Were it not for you, I would not have created the heavens." Whatever exists - such as nobility, humility, authority, and high station - all are gifts from him, shadows of him, inasmuch as they were manifested through him.

- Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi in Fihi ma fihi

O son, do not ever think or feel Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is far from you. If you want to feel closer to him, practise what he practised, as simple as, fasting on Mondays, among others. And of course salawat. Alhamdulillah, with the barakah from my murshid, gurus and the awliya, I'm more conscious of my relationship to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w now than before.

I used to feel upset about having to run and rush with a crowd of ladies at Masjid Nabawi; I disliked that some people pushed one another for wanting to be closer to his maqam and the Raudhah. But lately, it dawned upon me that I don't have to be part of that madness ever again. I can always 'rush' to the Prophet every day, at anytime, all by my self, by saying my daily salawat to him. And I know it gets to him in the 'fast lane'! InshaAllah.

With the barakah of Habib Ali bin Jaafar al-Idrus may you too become istiqamah with his preferred salawat which he recites at least 100 times daily:

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Like Rumi and many other Sufis, Samani finds the the key to human existence in God's Love for human beings and human love for God. He frequently comments on the Qur'anic verse, "He loves them and they love Him." (Qur'an 5:54). Nothing other than human beings can love God with full love, since nothing else is made in God's own image.

God created every creature in keeping with the demand of power, but He created Adam and his children in keeping with the demand of love. He created other things in respect of being the Strong, but He created you in respect of being the Friend.- Ahmad Samani

Although the manifestation of Adam's greatness depends upon the outer dimension of his self known as 'clay' (gil), the true locus of his glory lies in the innermost dimension of his self known as 'heart' (dil), for the heart is where God looks and love for Him is born.

The place of Love is the heart, and the heart is pure gold, the pearl of the breast's ocean, the ruby of the innermost mystery's mine.

...The divine majesty polished it by gazing upon it, and the burnisher of the Unseen placed its mark upon it, making it bright and pure.

...The traces of the lights of the beauty of unqualified Love appear in the mirrors of pious hearts. Human love subsists through God's Love.

- Ahmad Samani

Love it needs to be remembered, can never be separated from pain and anguish. Lovers yearn for their beloved, and the more difficult the beloved is to reach, the greater the lovers suffer. The goal of love is union, and the divine attributes that bring about union are those of mercy and gentleness. But just as love demands union, so also it demands separation. There can be no love without testing and trial. True love proves itself by becoming more intense when the beloved is far away. Hence the lover must experience the effects of the names of wrath and severity, since it is these names that manifest God's distance. In this world and in Hell, the effect of these divine names is affliction, pain and suffering.

From the Throne down to the earth, no love whatsoever is sold except in the house of human grief and joy. Many sinless and pure angels were in the Court, but only this handful of dust was able to carry the the burden of this body-melting, heart-bruning verse. ["He loves them, and they love Him"]. - Ahmad Samani

Love is a divine quality that correlates with God Himself, who is both beautiful and and majestic, merciful and wrathful, gentle and severe, near and distant. The angels are cut off from God's love because they cannot taste true distance, while the beasts are far from Love because they cannot experience true nearness. Human beings are woven from nearness and distance. All conflicting attributes are brought together within them. Only they can truly love God, within whom all opposites coincide.

In the 18,000 worlds, no one drank down the cup that holds the covenant of "They love Him" except human beings. - Ahmad Samani

Human beings are the crown of God's creation, since they manifest the full range of the divine attributes. Without them the world would be a drab place indeed.

- W. Chittick quoting and explaining a partial of Ahmad Samani's writing in Rawh al-arwah. Samani died in 1140 CE.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

In a human being is such a love, a pain, an itch, a desire that, even if he were to possess a hundred thousand worlds he would not rest or find peace. People work variously at all sorts of callings, crafts, and professions, and they learn astrology and medicine, and so forth, but they are not at peace because what they are seeking cannot be found. The beloved is called dilaram (meaning that which gives the heart repose) because the heart finds peace through the beloved. How then can it find peace through anything else? All these other joys and objects of search are like a ladder. The rungs on the ladder are not places to stay but to pass through. The sooner one wakes up and becomes aware, the shorter the long road becomes, and the less one's life is wasted on these "ladder rungs".

- Jalaluddin Rumi in Fihi ma fihi

p/s I am absolutely amazed how the Sufi Saints have got all the answers to the burning questions that people have. Anyhow, I wish you the best of luck in your climb! Oh my dilaram...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

O son, today was mentally challenging and spiritually draining as I tried to balance between what I 'thought' was mentally correct while letting go of my 'self' at the same time. So the result is a somewhat perplexed and drunkard person.

And as I struggled with time in posting something for you today, I flipped through one of the thickest books I have got (The Heritage of Sufism) and I saw this:

"If you do not come to repent your existence,

You'll never approach the circle of gnostics and drunkards.

Unless in others' eyes you become an infidel,

In the creed of lovers, you'll never be Muslim."

- Abu Said Abil Khayr (967-1049 CE)

So what do you think? Now it is an irrelevant question isn't it? In fact, the maxim "I think, therefore I am" does not apply here because we are supposed to think I am NOT.

Oh....when will I repent from my existence and be done with 'thinking'?!

Monday, January 18, 2010

O people, if you are not lovers, serve the lovers, draw near to the lovers, love the lovers and think well of the lovers! For some rare individuals, love come by way of involuntary compulsion. The True One (Allah azza wa Jall) looks at them and loves them, so He transfers them in one moment from one state to another. He does not want to love them after years but He loves them in one moment, so they love Him out of necessity, without delay, without introduction, not gradually and without passage of time.

As for the majority of people, love comes by way of choice. The lovers choose Allah in preference to His creatures. They see the blessings that they have as having come from Him, not from anyone else. They recognize His subtle favors, His preparations for them and His rewards for them so they love Him. Then they choose Him in preference to both this world and the hereafter. They give up the things that are prohibited or legally dubious, reduce the use of what is lawful and be satisfied with whatever they already have. They abandon bed and blankets, sleep and rest; 'Their sides shun their beds.' (Qur'an 32:16)

Neither their night is an ordinary night nor their day is an ordinary day. They say: "Our God, we have left everything behind the backs of our hearts and hastened to You so that you might be pleased."

They walk to Him
sometimes on the feet of their hearts,

sometimes on the feet of their innermost beings,

sometimes on the feet of their will,

sometimes on the feet of their spiritual aspiration,

sometimes on the feet of their truthfulness,

sometimes on the feet of their love,

sometimes on the feet of their yearning,

sometimes on the feet of their humility and modesty,

sometimes on the feet of their fear,

sometimes on the feet of their hope;

they do all this in love for Him and longing to meet Him.

O you who ask me, are you of those who love Allah through involuntary compulsion or through choice? If the answer is neither, then be silent and work on correcting your practice of Islam. O you who ask me, if only your practice of Islam and your faith are sound. If only you leave the company of disbelievers and hypocrites today and stay away from them in the future. If only you refrain from attending sessions of those who associate creatures and means with Allah, those who dispute with the True One, repent and do not approach the treasuries of the kings and their secrets.

O Allah, do not inlclude us among the pretenders, liars and those who are ignorant of You and of the elite of your creatures and give us in this world good and in the hereafter good and protect us from the torment of the fire.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Among the characteristics of the friend of God or saint (wali) is that he has no fear, for fear derives from waiting for some imaginary future calamity or expectation of the loss of something one cherishes and loves. The friend of God, however, is the child of the present instant. He has no future from which he should fear anything, and just as he has no fear, so he has no hope, since hope involves waiting to obtain something in the future that one cherishes or expecting relief from something one dislikes. Neither does he have any sorrow, for sorrow comes from the sullying of one's contemplative moment. How can one who lives in the temenos* of contentment with God and dwells in the garden of harmonious affirmation of His will, ever feel grief?

- Junayd in Hujwiri: Kashf al-MahjubFROM: The Wisdom of SufismTemenos = sacred enclosure surrounding a temple or other holy spot

O son, I know this may seem difficult at first, but trust me, you will attain, you will, because sufficient is Allah as our Mawla!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

If you want to attain the spiritand achieve laughing good fortune,then laugh like a rose whether you see gentleness or cruelty.- Jalaluddin Rumi in Diwani Shamsi Tabriz

Translated by William Chittick in 'The Sufi Path of Love'Publisher credit: State University of New York Press Albany __________________________________________________________________Two stalks of roses especially for the 7 registered followers of Lisan al-Din:aisharafeqaqmalAbu Zahrahmohd shafiq abasHaikel IsmailShaun O'DonovanlightuponlightAND all the other unidentified visitors.May you attain the Spirit!

Friday, January 15, 2010

If you wish what you need to be given to you without your having to search for it, turn away from it and concentrate on your Lord; you will receive it if God wills. And if you gave up your needs entirely and were occupied only with God, He would give you all the good things you wish for in this world and in the other; you would walk in Heaven as well as on the earth; and more than that, since the Prophet s.a.w has said, in the very words of his Lord: "He who by remembering me (dhikir) is distracted from his petitions will receive more than those who ask."

Hear, faqir, what I said to one of our brothers (may god be well pleased with them): every time I was lacking something, great or small and turned away from it, in turning toward my Lord, I found it there in front of me, thanks to the power of Him who hears and knows. We see that the needs of ordinary people are filled by paying attention to them, whereas the needs of the elect are filled by the very fact that they turn away from them and concentrate upon God.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

I have been with Habib Umar a little more than 3 years. I know that we are people who know that we are not going to die until we eat everything Allah has written for us to eat in this life, spend everything Allah has written for us to spend in this world and meet all the people that Allah has written for us to meet. Alhamdulillah today I am happy to see all of you brothers and sisters in the back, Assalamualaikum!

I have been in Malaysia now for only one month and before this I was in Yemen with Habib Umar. Only after being Muslim for about 5 months Allah brought me to Yemen to meet Habib. Before Islam I grew up Jewish, I'm raised Jewish and I grew up becoming Christian before I come to Islam. So you know the Jews, they love Allah, the Christians, they love Allah, we love Allah but we have Muhammad. So we are people who bear witness in the oneness of Allah and that Muhammad s.a.w is His Rasul, His Messenger.

So when I meet Habib Umar, I would barge this man. And I never saw anybody in my life who is more loved by people, who people would just come to, he would be surrounded by them just asking for advice, seeking counsel in his presence, they love this man. I never came across a human being of this nature in my life. I will ask him a question like 'what is your favorite kind of food Habib,' and he will reply, 'whatever Rasulullah s.a.w love.' I would tell him that 'I want something, this is what I want.' He said, 'you don't want unless Allah wants.' After being with him and following him for about a month and a half, I go to almost everywhere with this man. I asked him what he wanted from me, I'm thinking he wanted me to do something and I asked him what he wanted me to do. He always say he wanted me to follow Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Habib Umar is a man who imitates, he is an imitator and he imitates the only one who's worthy of imitation and that is Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The reason we are gathered here tonight, the reason we have solah, the reason we have a relationship with Allah, we owe all this from Muhammad s.a.w. And we do everything for the sake of Allah, and for the sake of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. We don't do things for our own sake. This makes us so much different from other people, from the Jewish, from the Christian. We are people who do not fear poverty. We love to spend money on one another and love each other as brothers. Even shaking our brother's hands, sins fall off our heart like leaves fall off the tree. Islam makes us stand next to each other. No matter where we are in the world, we pray towards the same direction.

Alhamdulillah, I just like to tell you a story about Habib Umar and I'm glad that Allah has brought all of you here today to be in his presence because I love this man with all my heart. I love this man. His father was somebody who was murdered by the communist when they occupied Yemen, after hearing a powerful speech at a gathering. He gave a powerful speech, trying to pull people to Allah. This man was taken away. This was the last time people saw Habib Umar's father. He was killed, he was murdered. The man who the people believed killed Habib Umar's father called Habib Ali who is Habib Umar's student and told him 'I want to come to Allah.' The man who murdered Habib Umar's father. So Habib Ali called Habib Umar and told him what had happened. And Habib Umar only reply was 'If he wants to come to Allah, we need to help him.'

It's all about love to Allah. I am very very grateful that Allah has brought me to this deen because this deen is love, its essence is love. InshaAllah Allah make us grateful. We are here to witness the oneness of Allah and Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as His messenger. InshaAllah, I ask you to make du'a so that my family be guided to this deen, that Allah opens their heart to accept Islam. InshaAllah if you sit in front of Habib Umar, sit with sincerity for Allah and act like you are in the presence of Rasulullah s.a.w. You will benefit most from his love. His love will be transferred to you. Your heart will be purified. You will leave this place with much spiritual benefit. InshaAllah. Assalamualaikum.

- Shaykh Abdul Karim from Australia

At a majlis with Habib Umar bin Hafiz at Masjid al-Falah Selangor, Malaysia 10 January 2010.